This invention is based on an arrangement for locking the ignition key of a motor vehicle using the selector lever of an automatic transmission. A swivellable selector lever of a motor vehicle automatic transmission is provided which, in a selecting position, can be locked by a spring-loaded pressure rod longitudinally guided in the lever and can be released from the engagement by being pressed down. A locking element is provided in the ignition lock which, by way of a cable pull, is connected with a swivellable locking element on the selector lever.
This type of a mechanical locking arrangement is known from German Patent document DE 42 25 182 A1. A cable control of a locking element on the ignition lock is applied to a pivotally disposed lever. In a defined position of the ignition lock, the lever interacts with an angle stop of a second swivellable locking element. This second locking element has a cam contour into which a transverse pin of the pressure rod of the selector lever can engage. For locking the selector lever or the ignition key, both swivel elements and the transverse pin of the pressure rod must interact. This has the problem of adding together all of the construction-type tolerances due to the manufacturing and movement possibilities.
There is therefore needed a purely mechanically acting simple ignition key locking arrangement which has only a small number of structural members so that, on the one hand, the component expenditures are reduced and, on the other hand, the influence of component tolerances and movement tolerances is minimized.
According to the present invention, these needs are met by an arrangement for locking the ignition key of a motor vehicle. A swivellable selector lever of a motor vehicle automatic transmission is provided which, in a selecting position, can be locked by a spring-loaded pressure rod longitudinally guided in the lever and can be released from the engagement by being pressed down. A locking element is provided in the ignition lock which, by way of a cable pull, is connected with a swivellable locking element on the selector lever. The locking element and the selector lever interact by way of a guideway on one of the two components and a guide element on the other component. The pressure rod acts upon the locking element by way of an intermediate element longitudinally guided in the selector lever.
If the swivellable locking element interacts directly by way of a guide element and a guideway with the selector lever, and the pressure rod of the selector lever acts by way of a longitudinally guided intermediate element directly on the locking element, it becomes possible to provide a mechanical locking using only one swivellable component in addition to the selector lever so that the entire locking operation is subject to fewer tolerances. This results in a simply installed mechanical locking device which requires few components and which is secure with respect to usage errors and unauthorized use.
If the swivellable locking element is constructed as a lever, whose one lever arm is acted upon by the pressure rod or the intermediate element and on whose other lever arm a cable pull is applied, unauthorized or misuse by an unintentional actuation of the pressure rod is prevented because this would result in a pulling effect on the cable pull. An upsetting of the cable pull by actuating the pressure rod is excluded.
By constructing the guideway with a curved section having two opposite guiding edges, between which the guide lengthening is guided with only a slight amount of play, a forced guiding is obtained between the selector lever and the locking element by which an unauthorized swivelling of the locking element into the locking position is prevented.
The guideway and the guide element advantageously interact along the whole swivel range of the selector lever so that an unauthorized guiding-apart of the two guide elements is not possible in any operating position of the selector lever.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.